Apparatus for recovering sulfur from sulfur-bearing gases.



P s. SMITH. x APPARATUS FOR REGQVERING SULFUR FROM SULFUR BEARING GASAPPLICATION mum mm: 10. 1908. I

12. Q I Patented J31]. 4,1910.

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WI T/VESSES:

ATTORNEYS.

V P. s. smifiii APPARATUS ZFOR RECQVBBING SULFUR PROM SULFUR BEARINGGASES.

'Arr'fitommx FILED Jun 10. 1908.

r 945,112. Patented Jan 4,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7 of this specification.

PAUL 8. SMITH, OF NEWBURGH,'NEW YORK,

NEMOURS POWDER COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON,

new JERSEY.

ASSIGNOR TO THE E. I. DU FONT DE DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF APPARATUSFOR RECOVEBING SULFUR FROM SULFUR-BEARING GASES.

945,112, original application filed December 8,

Specification of Letters Patent. 1907;Seria1 No. 404,890. Divided andthis application filed June 10,

Patented Jan. 4, 1910.

1908. Serial No. 487,646.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL S. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newbur 11, county of Orange, and State of New Yor havemvented a new and useful Improvement in Ap aratus for the Recovery ofSulfur from gulfur-Bearing Gases, of which the followin is. full, clear,and exact description, re erence being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part This ap lication is a division of an apgiication hledby me December 3d, 1907,

rial No. 404,890, on which issued Patent No. 912,744, dated Feb. 16,1909, and claims the apparatus which is described in said patent as the,means whereby the process claimed therein is preferably raoticed. In apatent issued to me February 11, 1908, No. 878,569, 'I have set forth aprocess and apparatus for recoverin sulfur from sulfur dioxid in which pucer-gas and water-gas is successively formed and the wateras mixed withthe sulfur dioxid and the mi xedogases heated by the combustion of thepr ucer gas, thereby causing the mixed gases to react with evolution ofsulfur vapor. In said process and apparatus the roducer-gas andwater-gas, alternately ormed in the gas producer, are led respectivelyto storage tanks from which, as reuired the two gasesare se arately ledto t e r ucer. This process an ap aratus are operative and comparativelye cient and economical, but the present invention has for its ob ect togreatly enhance the efiiciency and economy of the process by suchmodifications therein as will enable the producer-gas and water-gasto-be manufactured continuously instead of alternately, and to be led,immediately upon their formation, to the reducer. both water-gas andproducer-gas. are led continuously to the reducer, the storage of eachga necessitated -by the intermittent nature its manufacture, causes adrop in its temperature, thus requiring an ex enditure of a certainamount of energy to e evate it to its temperature of combustion orreaction. My present invention, by providin for the. continuousmanufacture of hot gases, dispenses with the necessity of temporarilystoring either and permits of both gases bein In my prior application,while 'led immediately to the reducer, thus enab 1ng the process to becarried on wlth maxlmum etlicienc and economy.

In the drawings: Flgure 1 represents a side elevation, partly insection, of my 1mroved apparatus; Fig. 2 is a section on the ins 2-,-2of Fig. 1.

and 100 are two gas-producers or generators provided with grates andlined with fire-brie 11 and 110 are pipes leading from the .blast main12, into which air is .blown by suitable means, the admission of air tothe generators 10 and 100 being controlled by the blast-gates 14 and140, which are operated from the working latform by means of the handwheels 15 an 150. Each hand wheel is connected with its correspondingblast-gate by means of a inion' 16 on the hand wheel enga ing a me 17 ona rod 18 attached to the b ast-gate.

19 and 190 are pipes leading from the steam header 8, by means of whichsteam under pressure 18 supplied beneath the grates of the generators 10,and 100, these pipes bemg controlled by valves 20 and 200 that areoperated from the working platform 9 by means of the floor stands 21 and210.

22 and 220 are covers which are removable for the purpose of chargingthe generators 10 and 100 with fuel. y

23 is a retort which consists of a steel shell lined with fire-brick andprovided with interior fire-brick work arranged to form two sets ofannular passages or chambers 24 and 25, the passa cs 24 alternatin withthe pas= sages 25, an the passages 0 each set communicating one withanother alternately at the to and bottom, thereby affording two sets 0staggered passages, the passages of one set being separated from thepasse es of the other set by a single artitlon o firebrick. Theinnermost of t e passages 25 is of tubular shape and leads to the stack26. The innermost of the passages 24 communicates, at its lower oroutlet end, with the pipe 27, leading to the condensing system 28. a 29and 290 are two-way valves, by means of which the gases from thegenerators 10 and 100 may be diverted, through the pipes 30 and 300, tothe annular pipe 34 at the tog of the retort, or through the ipes 31 an310 to the annular pipe 35 at t e bottom of with the outer ply of sulthe retort. Each valve 29 or 290 is operated by means of a hand wheel 32whose shaft en gages a rackon a rod 33 attached to the valve. Theannular pipe .34 communicates passage of the set of passages 24 withinthe retort, and the annular pipe 35 communicates with the outer passageof the set of passages 25 within the retort.

36 is a pipe leading from the blast main 12 to an annular pipe 37surrounding the annular pipe 35 and having branch injector pipes 38extending into or through the pipe- 35 for the purpose of supplying airto the passages 25, these pipes being controlledby means of the valve 39operated from the working platform by means of the floor tand 40,

.41 is a ipe leading from a source of sup- ?ur dioxid to the pipe 34.The following conditions are represented "in the drawings) The fuel inthe generator 10 is being raised to the roper tem erature for makingwater-gas, and the blast om the pipe 11 passes upward through the fuelin the generator 10, forming producer-gas, which passes down throughthepipe's31 and 35 to the lower part of the. retort 23, where an auxiliaryblast of air is supplied by the pipes '38. By this. supply of air, theproducer-gas is lgnited, and in its passage successively upward,downward and upward through the passages 25, the bricks are raised to abright red heat, the waste gases finally escaping through the stack 26into the am It is assumed that when theblast is put in operation on thegenerator 10, as described, for the purpose of bringing the fuel in thegenerator 10 to the temperature of maximum efficiency for-the formationof wateras, the fuel in the generator 100 has alrea y been brought to asuitable high temperaturebysimilar means. The valve 140 has been sh1ft-.

ed to close pipe 110 and the steam valve 200 has been opened, admittingsteam beneath the grate of the generator 100. The steam asslng upwardvthrough the incandescent el is disassociated with formation of watergaswhich passes through. pipe 300 to pipe 34, where it mixes with thesulfur dioxid from the pipe 41.- Thence the mixedses pass to the upperpart of theretort an suc cessively downward,upward and downward throughthe passages 24 in contact with-the red hot brick-work that has beenheated and in continuing to be 'heated by the vburnin producer-gas,resulting in evolution of s fur. The sulfur vapor so formed, togetherwith the other products of the reaction, water vapor and carbon monoxid,pass through the pipe 27 to the condensing system 28, in contact withthe cooling surface of which the hot gases fall to such a temperaturethat the sulfur vapor condenses;

densing system. and finally to solid flowers rst toa liquid in thehotter part of the con-" of sulfur in the cooler portions. It is assumedthat the continued operation of the air blast has restored the fuel ingenerator 10 to its temperature of the formation of water-gas. At thesame time the continued production of water-gas in the generator 100 hasreduced the temperature of the fuel below the point of maximum efliciencfor the formation of watergas. The air last-is now shut off fromgenerator 10 and the steam-valve 2O opened'to admit-steam beneath thegrate for the purpose of forming water-gas, and the valve 29 is shiftedto divert such gas to the and 34. At the same time, the steam valve 200is closed and the air blast is-a lied to the enerator 100 for thepurpose 0 orming. to

pro ucer' as, and the valve 290 is shifted divert sue gas to the pipes310 and 35. The system of valves now presents relations the reverse ofthose indicated in the drawing,

the retort'23 is concerned,

although so far as there is no interruption of the continuous flow ofburning roducer-gas through the passages 25 or o the continuous flow ofmixed gases (sulfur dioxid and water-gas) through the passages 24.Further, the firebrick work is maintained at a constant hightemperature. c If the quantity of producer-gas evolved is more thansuflicient to maintain the firesuitable branch pipes,.not necessary tospecifically show, or the secondary air-blastmay an application filed ofevendate'herewith Serial No. 437,645 I have shown and described anotherapparatus for recovering sulfur from sulfur dioxid having certainfeatures in common with the specific ape paratus hereinbefore described.The apparatus set out in the claims hereinhis a specific embodiment ofthe invention common to the apparatus of the two applications, whichinvention is broadly claimed in said application N o. 437 ,645. v

maximum efliciency for pipes 30 brick work at the requisite temperature,a part of the same may be'diverted by any Having now fully described myinvention,

what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

.1. In an apparatus for the recovery of sulfur from sulfur dioxid, thecombination with a. plurality of generators and steam pipe and air pipeconnections to each generator, pipe connections from a source of supplyof sulfur dioxid and from erator, enabling the sulfur dioxid to be mixedwith water-gas generated by either generator, acondensmg system, aretort common to all of said pipe connections between the juncture ofsaid pipe connections and said condensing system, and pipe connectionsfrom each generator to the retort, per-- mitting producer gas to be ledto the retort each gen-- 1 (l0 be cut ofl, thereby preventing theignition of p the producer-gas.

with a plurality of water-gas generators and a single retort, of avalve-controlled steam pipe and a valve-controlled air pipecommunicating with each generator, an annular mixing pipe at one end ofthe retort, two contiguous sets of passages withln the retort,

one set of which communicates with said mixing pipe, a pipe forconveying sulfur dioxid to the mixing pipe, an annular pipe atthe otherend of the retort communicating with the other set of passages, acondenser communicating with the first set of passages, an auxiliary airblast communicating with the second set of assa es, and valve-controlledpipe connections om each generator to both annular pipes.

3. In an ap aratus for the recover of sulfur from s fur diom'd, the comination supply the heat 3 with a plurality of water-gas generators and asingle retort, said retort comprising a series of concentric chambers orpassages, alternate passages having ports commumcating with each otherand the communicating ports being arranged successively at opposite endsof the retort, thereby providing two sets of passages in which any passae of either set is contiguous to a passage'o the other set,valve-controlled pipe connections from each generator to the two sets ofpassages respectively, means to convey sulfur dioxid to one set ofpassages and a condenser communicat-; ing with the last named set ofpassages.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, atNewburgh, on this fourth day of June, 1908. r

PAUL S. SMITH.

Witnesses:

SLoA'N LAMONT, Jr., RALPH H. SMITH.

